Roanoke golfers hit the links amid coronavirus scare

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ7)-- The golf course is typically a place of respite, but especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s a place you can be not next to one another, you can keep your distance, it also gets you outside to do some exercise and keep your mind off the obvious craziness that’s going on in the world today,” said golfer Phil Gray.

Blue Hills Golf Club was the place to be Friday.

Lots of golfers hit the links while taking proper safety precautions.

“We have hand sanitizer with us that we carry with us all the time, and we’ll use that, and we highly recommend everyone else around us use it,” said golfer Ben Harris.

The course is taking plenty of precautions, too.

Management has removed all ball washers and bunker rakes to prevent multiple people from touching the same things.

They are also washing carts before and after players use them, and they’re asking everyone to leave the pins in place and avoid touching them.

“On our putting greens, our practice putting greens, we’ve flipped the cups upside down and removed the flagsticks so that way a golf ball doesn’t reach the bottom of a cup and it’s very easy to pick up with just your fingers," said Blue Hills PGA Pro John Steffen. "On the golf course we’ve actually inserted a piece of PVC pipe into the cup, so similarly the ball doesn’t go all the way to the bottom and you’re able to pick the ball up, if you’re careful, without touching the flagstick or the cup.”

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.